Lost Love
by La Nuit Noire
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto have been gone for years, and Sakura finds herself once more left behind. When an opportunity arises that could change all this, will Sakura finally be able to piece her team back together? Sakura/Sasuke
1. Chapter 1

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

**A/N: This is an idea I got out of nowhere, and I just had to write it down. I think I'll continue with it and see how it goes. Please review!**

**-crystal teardrops **

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** Prologue**

_The field surrounding her was splattered in blood, as if a war had just taken place. The once pure soil was now mixed in blood, coloring the ground. The stench of dead bodies permeated the air, enough to suffocate any survivors. This gruesome sight was a tragedy to behold, but that was not what drew in Sakura's gaze. No, it was his eyes._

_His eyes were filled with malice._

_Those snake-eyes regarded her with hunger; he was starving, for what she did not know._

_Red flashed, and soon she was looking into his flaming eyes, the tomoes spinning wildly. _

_He was insane, she was sure. No amount of insisting could make a starved animal see reason, and that was what he was. _

_And then he was advancing upon her, and she could feel her body shake, barely containing her fear, or was it rage? _

_She was unsure of what was happening, but found herself screaming out at him in anguish, uttering words of contempt. She chastised him, threatened him, insulted him, and pleaded him with words that were meaningless to his ears. _

_Still, he came forward, stopping only to avert his eyes slightly to glance at her lap, his eyes lighting up with satisfaction. _

_No . . . not her lap, something else. _

_She was reluctant to take her gaze from him, but she did feel something in her lap. Wary of him, she glanced down as well, finally acknowledging the pressure there. She froze._

_It was a head, upturned and thankfully still attached to the body._

_The occupant had blond hair._

_She recognized those whiskers._

_She knew those confident features that lit up with a smile, more masculine over the years._

_She was familiar with the proud headband that adorned his forehead. _

_And suddenly she felt the urge to cry._

_For his once bright blond hair was now stained with blood, his masculine features marred with wounds, the dark red blood running down his face and staining her skirt._

_She gazed at him in shock. _

_His body was broken, his soul barely clinging to life. It was surreal to her, there was no way this was her best friend. _

_Her protector. Her brother. _

_But this was not the time to break. She would eventually, but now was not the time. For now she would continue to swim upstream, to avoid falling down the waterfall that was her grief. _

_She called on every ounce of her being; put forth all that she had left. She willed herself to come to the aide of her beloved friend, produce the green light that would save his life. _

_But something was wrong._

_Instead of healing him, she held him close to her, sobbing uncontrollably. Her body disobeyed her, while her mind screamed to heal the body in her arms instead of weep uselessly. _

_Her time as it was felt short. She could hear her breath quickening and coming in gasps. She realized that she too was weary, almost at the hands of death herself. Her body was also broken, and she was faint from blood loss, but she would not allow herself to succumb to the darkness._

_And yet her body still seemed to fail her as her vision blurred. Where was her spirit? The soul that kept her alive and fighting like a cornered animal until the very end? Was she so weak that she could not even save the ones closest to her? _

_When at last her efforts were exhausted, she broke, though her mind still urged her not to give up. What was wrong with her! She had to save Naruto!_

_But no, she found herself looking up to the dark figure looming above her. He was watching her with amusement, and she felt her rage come to her. Yet again though, she found her will contained by something._

"_Sasuke! I know you're in there somewhere, please! Help him!" she pleaded, her eyes overflowing with tears._

_Inside, she felt herself ready to burst. What the hell was she doing! All she wanted to do right now was kill the man in front of her! He was going to kill her and any of the life still remaining in Naruto, and she was pleading with him! She urged herself to get up and fight him- no matter if it was to the death- but to no avail._

"_Sasuke, please, fight it Sasuke! Don't let him take over you!" she found herself yelling, hating how weak she sounded._

_Sasuke was obviously not in his right state of mind. That was the only explanation for him killing Naruto. Though she hated Sasuke for his wrongs against her and Naruto, a part of her truly believed that he would never hurt his friends. He promised, didn't he, all those years ago?_

_Yes, that was it, he did not know her. His pain and Orochimaru's taint blinded him._

_Even as she thought these thoughts though, she felt hopeless. She was at his mercy._

_She couldn't save Naruto._

_She can't save herself._

_She was useless._

_He crouched down to where she was on the ground and lifted her chin. He looked deep into her eyes, his crimson eyes searching her soul and bringing out all of her sorrow, so that she felt that death would be welcome. Then, slowly, he bent foreword until his lips brushed her ear, and added the final sorrow she would endure in this world._

"_Arigatou, Sakura" he whispered in a velvety voice that gave her chills, licking the blood that was dripping from her head. _

_Her lips parted in a silent gasp._

_He recognized her. _

With a chocked gasp she shot up, shaking from her latest nightmare. Escaping from the sheets clinging to her, she rose, running a shaking hand through her damp hair. This was happening way too often for her liking.

She needed some air.

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**A/N: Okay, so this is the prologue, tell me what you think! R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**A/N: So, this is the next chapter, hope you enjoy it!**

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The moon was full this night, and Sakura found herself admiring the ethereal glow it cast on Konoha from her perch on top of Hokage Mountain. It was a beautiful night, not too hot, nor too cold; just the perfect day for a nighttime walk. And she would have enjoyed it too, had it not been for the horrifying dream that she had. Ugh, she didn't even want to think about it right now.

Nights like this one reminded her of _him_, and every so often she felt a wave of nostalgia hit her. It was times like this that she felt the need to gaze upon her village and remind herself of what she was protecting, lest she give in to her will and run off to find Sasuke.

He had been gone for far too long.

It was hard for her at first, when she was only 13. Heh, she always thought that 13 was an unlucky number.

Everything seemed to go wrong from that point on.

She still vividly remembered the night that he left. You don't forget things like that so easily, and she didn't want to either. It was a good wake-up call for her, reminding her that even in villages like Konoha, where they preach friendship and loyalty, things can go horribly wrong. And even though she wished that things could have been different, they weren't.

She realized that betrayal was definitely a lesson that all ninja had to learn if they wanted to survive in the shinobi world.

But that didn't make it any easier when it happened.

Lifting herself from her sitting position on the revered mountain, she proceeded to walk down the side of it, intent on letting her feet carry her where they may.

In a matter of minutes she found herself behind the Academy. It had always been a tranquil place for her to gather her thoughts. The smell of flowers always managed to calm her. This was the place where many happy events took place. It was here that Ino had first stood up for her, and it was also here that she had first met Sasuke. Thinking about it brought a smile to her face.

_They had connected from the very first time they met._

_He was always all smiles and she radiated innocence and joy._

_It was the Spring Festival of Cherry Blossoms, and people crowded the streets decked out in their finest clothes. It was the picture of fun; children running about tasting sweets while the adults looked on, smiling and playing a few games themselves._

_It was while all of these events were going on that she had found a young black-haired boy lying by himself in the meadow behind the Academy. All alone, save for the lone tomato in his hand, and looking completely bored._

_She had been enjoying her time at the festival until some of the other girls started teasing her. She was getting better at the whole confidence thing thanks to Ino, but it was coming on pretty slow. She had decided therefore that it would be better to just return to where she always went when she was feeling down. _

_Unfortunately it looked like her normal space was occupied right now. Though, she blushed, the boy in front her was rather cute. Deciding to find out more about this boy, she stepped forward. _

"_Whatcha doing?" _

_His eyes snapped open in shock as he looked at the pair of bright green eyes directly above him. He let out a surprised sound and then gaped at the little girl in front of him. _

"_Wow, you're pretty weird for a boy." she giggled. _

_Snapping out of his stare, he looked away disgruntled, "Hmph, at least I don't have pink hair. You're pretty weird for a girl." _

_She was rather hurt by his words and had looked away in shame. She could tell he was waiting for her to say something, but she kept quiet. _

_He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and then adopted a slightly guilty look. She continued looking at the ground sadly, and sniffling a bit. _

"_Hey, what's your name?" he asked, and she was thrilled at his change of tone._

_She instantly brightened up and sat down next to him while flashing him a smile, "I'm Sakura! Who are you?"_

_He smiled back at her, "Sasuke."_

"_Oh . . . well you know Sasuke, you're kinda in my spot." she informed him._

"_Huh? Your spot? I thought anyone could sit here?" he questioned frowning._

" _Oh! I'm not mad or anything! I just . . . always come here. It's really quiet . . . and nice." She said, while looking around them._

_It was true. There were flowers everywhere, and the place just looked so . . . alive. There was even a stream a while away. _

"_Yeah, it's nice." He agreed. _

"_How come you aren't at the Festival" she questioned, her eyes sparkling with curiosity._

"_Well why aren't you?" he shot back. He wasn't in the mood for more sulking about Itachi. _

"_Oh . . ." she sighed, her eyes dimming; she didn't want to talk about it._

"_I-It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. "He said quietly, feeling awkward. _

"_No, no, it's okay . . . I just came here 'cause Ami was teasing me about my forehead." She said while blushing slightly._

"_Oh . . ."_

"_What do you think?"She questioned shyly._

_He looked at her, bewildered, "What do I think about what?"_

"_My forehead" she answered quietly, while blushing even more and bringing her face to her lap._

"_Oh that, i-it's a little big, but don't worry! I think you look pretty!" he said, and then instantly blushed. Her forehead was a little big, and he didn't want to lie, but he didn't want her to be sad again either. Plus she was pretty; he just didn't want to tell her, it kind of just came out. _

_She looked up at him and flashed him another big smile and his doubt vanished as he answered her with one of his own. _

"_Do you want to watch the clouds with me?" he asked. This boy he met always watched the clouds, and he thought it might be pretty fun._

"_Sure!"_

That meeting was probably the only one she had with Sasuke as a child. After that, it had seemed like he was always busy, probably training. And back then she was much too shy to go up to him again, especially after realizing that she liked him.

Thinking back, it was probably only a few months before the massacre. After that, well, Sasuke wasn't even in-touch with reality, much less her. After all that he went through, who could blame him for forgetting a few meaningless moments of peace with her? As happy as it often made her to contemplate joyful memories from the past, there was always an underlining depression that never failed to follow. Realizing that those fun-filled days were over was almost enough for one to wish that they could stay in that surreal past forever.

Little things that caused her so much upset in the past, made no difference to her now. Her spat with Ino regarding Sasuke, for example, could only elicit a brief chuckle from her. Back then she easily worked herself into a fit, and over the smallest things that the blonde would hold over her head. Their immaturity was so blatant, that she actually felt sorry for those who had to deal with them, namely Sasuke.

Feeling a tight pain in her chest, she decided to head back up the mountain, where she could evade those happpy but painful memories. It was sometimes too much for her, that hole that was always there with her. It never went away, faded over time, but was always there.

Truly, time had changed many things. Countless dangerous missions and near-death situations had altered them all. Their bonds deepened, and their strength grew. They were all jaded now, with the weight of their failures and duty on their shoulders. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why he left. He knew that all too soon we would start to grow, both our bonds and our strength, and then he would be unable to leave.

Regardless, she wished he could just see how _well _they worked together now. How, like a well-oiled machine they functioned, getting missions done left and right with flawless accuracy. Sure, it took them some time, but it happened. And he should have been a part of that! How could the random strangers in his new Team Hebi even compare to his original team! How could he pick them over his true team, his friends? It was beyond her.

Settling down at her previous perch to once more observe Konoha, her thoughts once again strayed to all of the frightening dreams she's been having lately, with Sasuke killing Naruto, the ultimate deed that would, if nothing else, throw them apart forever. Over the past months she's been having these vivid dreams of Naruto being killed by Sasuke, with her in the vicinity. It was never the same, though the outcome was always the same. And there was always lots of blood: on her clothes, her hands, her face. Just thinking about it gave her chills.

It was a thought that they had all entertained. Especially after Sasuke's attempt on Naruto's life back when they were sixteen. It was not something they could just ignore, but at the same time, Naruto's determination had only strengthened, and she would like to think that hers had as well, except for the fact that it hadn't. The incident had left her doubtful, and feeling helpless. Over time, though she definitely grew stronger, her doubt did not cease, though she put on a brave face for Naruto.

Time away from Konoha had hardened Sasuke more that she thought Naruto realized. What he could not do before, he could do now. Not just in terms of jutsu, but in breaking bonds permanently as well. There was no hesitation in his strikes, and she believed he would have killed them had Orochimaru not come into the picture.

His expression scared her as well. The Sasuke she knew was always brooding, but at least there was some expression on his face, may it be a smirk or some condescending look. But this new Sasuke was completely different. His eyes and face were emotionless, even while he was fighting. Their future as a team, in her eyes, looked rather bleak.

Coming back from her thoughts, she was startled to see dawn breaking over Konoha, bathing her face in golden sunlight as she watched. It was transfixing, and soothed her troubled mind. Breaking from her reverie, Sakura stood up and stretched languidly before taking off down the mountain to get ready for her shift at the hospital.

It was going to be a long day, she could feel it.

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**A/N: Well, I'm not sure when I'll update next, but we'll see. R&R!**


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